Corning MobileAccess, part of Corning Incorporated’s (NYSE:GLW) Telecommunications segment, today announced that the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has deployed its distributed antenna system (DAS) solution. One of the United States’ top academic health science centers, MUSC tapped Longent, a premier integrator of Corning MobileAccess systems, for the campus-wide wireless deployment, which covers 24 total floors and nearly 1 million square feet of indoor space.

“Deploying an indoor wireless solution in a health care environment is far different than an implementation for an office building or stadium, but the needs are the same – to make wireless services a more integrated component of daily operations,” said Rick Youngbar, founder and chief executive officer, Longent. “Combined with the growing importance of electronic medical records, determining how to better utilize wireless technologies is a serious quandary for medical institutions across the country. By enlisting Longent to design, build, and deploy an indoor wireless solution, MUSC has ensured that their staff can use the latest and greatest technology to better serve their patients.”

Poor quality cellular service affected not only patients and visitors across MUSC’s facilities, but it also prevented medical staff from gaining the full benefits of new wireless technologies. To rectify this problem and improve indoor wireless coverage, MUSC turned to Longent based on the integrator’s excellent track record of improving in-building wireless and experience in the health care space. For equipment, Longent selected the MobileAccess1000, which greatly enhanced PCS and cellular service throughout the MUSC campus, including their main and children’s hospitals. The improved coverage not only makes it easier for patients and visitors to use wireless devices, improving peace of mind for loved ones, but also allows hospital staff to better plan for future technologies and services. Beyond the existing services, MUSC has plans to extend their indoor coverage to 4G LTE and add an additional carrier.

“The rapid innovation of wireless technology is of huge benefit to healthcare institutions, but in order to make full use of these wireless devices, the proper infrastructure must be in place,” said Vince Dibble, manager of telecommunications and network services at the Medical University of South Carolina.

“By enhancing our in-building wireless system, we have essentially created 'future-ready' wireless capabilities that enable our medical staff to better leverage mobile technologies and wireless services today, while also supporting emerging services like 4G running on tablets and smartphones. Our main goal was to improve the poor quality cellular service in several of our large buildings; not only did we solve that issue, but we also opened the door for many future possibilities, including the use of 4G LTE as a backup to our 802.11 network.”

The MobileAccess1000 offers flexible in-building wireless connectivity through a single open platform that distributes cellular services, including: CELL/PCS, AWS, public safety, paging, and even emerging services such as 4G LTE, over a common grid of antennas. For campus installations, the MA330 solution simplifies the process of supporting wireless services in multiple buildings, avoiding the burden of having to purchase additional equipment and RF sources for each facility on campus. This combined "Wire-it-Once" market approach reduces the costs and maintenance burdens of OPEX-intensive-active-in-the-ceiling networks for the hospital IT staff and one network cost effectively delivers coverage without antenna farms on ceilings.

“The modern healthcare enterprise simply cannot afford to ignore the importance of wireless when it comes to improving patient care and response,” said Jeff Kunst, vice president of product management, Corning MobileAccess. “By selecting our MobileAccess1000 solution, the Medical University of South Carolina has taken a major step towards ensuring that their staff, patients, and visitors can stay connected no matter where they are on the MUSC campus.”

For more information on Corning MobileAccess solutions and how they can help healthcare providers achieve ubiquitous wireless service, please visit http://www.corning.com/mobileaccess.

About the Medical University of South CarolinaFounded in 1824, the Medical University of South Carolina has grown into one of the nation’s top academic health science centers, complete with a 700 bed medical center (MUSC Health) and six colleges that train nearly 2,600 health care professionals each year. Named “One of America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report in 2009, MUSC Health is at the forefront of the latest advances in medicine, with world-class physicians, groundbreaking research and technology that is often among the first of its kind in the world.

About Longent LLCLongent is a premier integrator of in-building and wide-area wireless solutions, supplying best in class design, implementation, project management, and maintenance services. To support our efforts, Longent utilizes Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS), fiber-fed repeaters, Wi-Fi, and multi- and single-operator systems in both public and private venues. Our team’s high level of expertise in development and deployment enables us to create customized, future-proof solutions to satisfy our customers’ wireless coverage and capacity needs. Longent’s neutral approach to developing innovative multi-operator DAS networks is in use at corporate campuses, hospitals, universities, airports, and malls throughout the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

About Corning IncorporatedCorning Incorporated (www.corning.com) is the world leader in specialty glass and ceramics. Drawing on 160 years of materials science and process engineering knowledge, Corning creates and makes keystone components that enable high-technology systems for consumer electronics, mobile emissions control, telecommunications and life sciences. Our products include glass substrates for LCD televisions, computer monitors and laptops; ceramic substrates and filters for mobile emission control systems; optical fiber, cable, hardware & equipment for telecommunications networks; optical biosensors for drug discovery; and other advanced optics and specialty glass solutions for a number of industries including semiconductor, aerospace, defense, astronomy and metrology.